The Great Cherry Tongue Twist
by Streetlight Eyes
Summary: Claiming the Earth Kingdom was one thing; claiming a girlfriend was something else entirely. The love story of Azula and Ty Lee told in twenty-four chronological drabbles, each revolving around a momentous kiss.
1. Cherry Stems

**This started out as an Advent Calendar, but updating daily during such a busy season wasn't really possible (but I dreamed). So it's just 24 drabbles, each one describing a kiss that gradually shows the progression of Azula and Ty Lee's relationship, starting during S2 and ending post-canon.  
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><p>"You expect me to put that in my mouth... and tie it with my tongue?" Azula did not bother to hide the contempt in her voice, but Ty Lee simply grinned, batted her eyes and ignored it.<p>

"It's the ultimate test of a good kisser," Ty Lee said with a cocked eyebrow. Something very darkly seductive was glowing in her eyes and Azula chewed on her lower lip.

"I'm confident in my kissing abilities. I don't need a piece of fruit to tell me," Azula replied finally, after far too much deliberation for something as ridiculous as this. But this budding romance felt like walking across a battlefield and attempting not to get smashed to death with a rock or disemboweled with a sword.

They were fourteen. It was early spring and they had just returned from the Earth Kingdom. Azula was not exactly in the mood for these games, after narrowly missing the Avatar and her brother. But there she was, with her feet kicked up on a stone, decrepit Pai Sho table with Ty Lee clutching a bowl of cherries.

And then Ty Lee held out her hand, hoping this was suave somehow miraculously, and asked Azula to tie it with her tongue. But, Ty Lee was realizing, she might as well have been telling Azula to... well... telling her to do _anything _generally would have this response.

"I'll do it first," Ty Lee declared and Azula realized there was no easy way out of this.

Ty Lee popped it in her mouth with relative ease and seemed to be focusing intently. It was almost as if she was thinking deeply. Azula had to admit she enjoyed the shallow conversation once in a while, as much as she was not a fan of boys and trends. It broke her thoughts, broke everything constantly swirling in her mind, to match Ty Lee's vacancy.

And after sticking her fingers through her lips, Ty Lee withdrew the cherry stem. It was tied rather impressively. Azula did not bother to hide the fact that she was impressed.

"I'll try it," Azula sighed. She had played this game with her brother before, albeit without the incredible sexual tension. She enjoyed watching as he floundered and she just tied one with her fingers and kept it behind her teeth before putting in an untied one, swallowing it and withdrawing the previously tied one.

But Ty Lee was not as gullible as Zuko.

Azula plucked a cherry from the stem and put it into her mouth. She instantly wished she had somehow distracted Ty Lee and pulled the same trick and hoped for the best. Because while she could walk on air and run up walls, tying this with her tongue was surprisingly _difficult_.

Ty Lee instantly was filled with fear as she realized the princess could not do it.

"I give up," Azula said coldly and Ty Lee felt a brief rush of relief. She feared much worse retribution than Azula setting the saliva soaked stem on the table. "I suppose I'm not a good kisser, as I thought I was."

Not that anybody ever had kissed Azula. Not that anybody needed to _know _that she had never been kissed.

"Well, it's not entirely effective. I'd give it like, sixty percent chance of being right. There's only one way to be like one hundred and ten percent right," Ty Lee said brightly, undeterred by the way Azula looked like she wanted out of the situation desperately.

"Yes, and this method is...?" Azula asked, feigning interest.

But suddenly, she was much more interested. Because she was just kissed on the mouth. Her eyes were wide open as Ty Lee's were calmly closed, as if this was a simple decision for her.

It felt like a wash of warmth. Like something was _right_. Too right.

They broke away, realizing briefly what had just happened.

"I think you're the best kisser," Ty Lee said with a small smile. But her heart was beating out of her chest.

Azula only blinked.


	2. Dancing Lessons

"So, just... yes... like that..." Ty Lee said slowly, running her hand along the princess's arm.

"Useful. Very useful," was Azula's response.

They were in Ba Sing Se, in the Earth King's palace. Azula looked magnificent in green, and Ty Lee looked too Earth Kingdom even in pink, which was the bulk of Ty Lee's thoughts about their stay here. She was disappointed with the clothing selection, yet rather intrigued by Earth Kingdom Azula.

Ty Lee was teaching her a handful of moves she picked up. A chi blocking lesson for someone who did not need to know _more _combat. Ty Lee chose moves that did not kill, for fear of Azula using them. Yet, maybe murderous Azula would be hot. No, no, Ty Lee did not want that on her shoulders.

"Well, you'd really need to try it on a moving target," Ty Lee said, rubbing her neck. Azula was examining her own hands as if they were not already able to shoot fire and lightning. "Now you have to teach me how to bend lightning, obviously. It's only a fair trade."

Azula smirked.

"I _can _teach you something a little more interesting than bending lightning," Azula purred, looking dangerously excited. Ty Lee swallowed, blinking a few times. "I'm thinking when we get back to the Fire Nation there will be hero's banquets. And parties for the girl-_girls _who brought down the Earth Kingdom."

"I do like parties," Ty Lee said smoothly, her eyes sparkling with the idea. Azula knew that she liked parties that revolved around _her _beyond all other parties, but she did not say anything.

"Want to learn a dance?" Azula offered and Ty Lee could not keep herself from laughing. It did not seem like something Azula would know anything about. "Don't laugh. Do you know how much event training I've gone through in my life? It's not all slaying enemies and pointing the army in the right direction."

Ty Lee blushed. She felt rather ridiculous, but she held out a hand and nodded at Azula.

Azula took it and Ty Lee pulled her body very close. The princess's eyes flashed in surprise at being seized so forcefully and Ty Lee bit down on her lip in hopes she had not crushed the moment. But Azula's expression smoothed and they started spinning.

"Are we just going to twirl in circles until we get dizzy?" Azula sounded amused.

"You're the dance instructor," Ty Lee breathed in response and Azula shrugging, her body brushing against Ty Lee in a most uncomfortable way when she did it.

"Someone is going to walk in on this and be very confused," Azula sighed before running her fingertips down Ty Lee's arm and taking her by the hand to guide her into the seven step dance.

"Probably Mai," Ty Lee added belatedly three steps in.

Ty Lee picked it up quickly. She was a performer and an acrobat, which made her delve into dancing far easier than it would be for most. Azula despised every moment of the lessons, almost as much as how to eat dinners. She was always more intrigued by the more dangerous things, or the ones that made her feel like a powerful soon-to-be Fire Lord and not a princess training in regal etiquette.

It was a nice thought to have hero's banquets. Maybe Ty Lee would be some kind of savior and everybody would idolize her. She could imagine the bright lamps illuminating her as people were in absolute awe that she helped land the final blow on the Earth Kingdom.

"Can we bring dates to these hero's banquets?" Ty Lee asked softly and Azula almost stumbled. She looked displeased instead of also lost in her own thoughts of being a war hero.

"I suppose," Azula said sharply with the look in her eyes that she had when Ty Lee would flirt with people. Jealousy.

"Alright, I'm going to preemptively ask you to be my date to our hero's banquet," Ty Lee said, forcing the words out as her heart raced. Azula's reception could be devastating and Ty Lee was horrified to admit it. Neither of them ever mentioned their growing romance.

"I accept," Azula said coldly but Ty Lee caught a very slight blush on her alabaster cheeks.

Azula leaned forward slowly, and for their second kiss ever, she pressed her lips against Ty Lee's. This time, it was not a brief flicker of warmth, they dug into each other with the force. It was passionate and devoid of cherry stems and hesitation.

"Seriously?" Mai had just opened the door to their shared bedroom.

"You were right, Ty Lee, she did walk in on us." Azula winked, looking amused by being caught.

Ty Lee felt her heart going into tachycardia.

Best kiss of her life. And her second kiss with Azula.

Hopefully not the last.


	3. One Night in Ba Sing Se

"It's nice," Ty Lee said happily, glancing around at the lovely city square in the Upper Ring. "I think I'm going to miss this place."

Azula cocked an eyebrow, far less impressed. She was leaning against the wall of a store, looking at the busy streets. Ty Lee was standing in front of her, clutching shopping bags.

The square was abuzz with live music and people everywhere, with a lovely fountain that had sculptures of what must be historical or mythological figures for the Earth Kingdom. The water pouring from it was cool and clear, and the people sitting on the edges seemed to be having a pleasant night.

Restaurants were open, filled to the brim. It was crowded. Even more crowded than Caldera. Azula was not very impressed.

She wanted to walk back to the palace above all else, but Ty Lee's response to Azula's splitting headache and borderline panic over the coup in three days time was to take her shopping. Shopping. Of course. Of course that would be her idea of a quick fix for anxiety.

"It's not terrible," Azula offered, the smell of Earth Kingdom street food wafting into her nose. It was so different from the Fire Nation. "I think I'll like it better once it belongs to me."

Ty Lee smirked, unable to suppress a small smile.

"Well, once you've conquered the world I'll always be around to take you shopping." Ty Lee blinked twice with a blissful grin.

"Yes, I'll be Fire Lord and you'll be the Queen of Buyer's Remorse," Azula said with a small, wicked twist of her ruby lips. Ty Lee giggled and Azula slowly shook her head.

_Why _she was interested in this girl was baffling to her. The crush that had slowly built up over the course of their journey to capture the Avatar was unusual, strange and Azula did not like it one bit. The two kisses they shared were a testament to the undeniable tension between them.

But really? What was there to see in Ty Lee?

Azula asked, trying to break the sexually tense silence, "What is it you like about Ba Sing Se? I find it disappointing."

"It's different. I always thought traveling was fun," Ty Lee said blithely, turning and leaning against the wall beside Azula. She looked out at the busy streets and thought about what would happen when the soldiers flooded the city.

Suddenly, in front of her was carnage and gore instead of blissful boutiques and chattering citizens. She sighed faintly and Azula studied her closely. The world snapped back and Ty Lee chewed on her lip.

"You're nervous too, aren't you?" Azula asked, her eyes with a nearly mocking glint.

Ty Lee shrugged feebly. "Well, we might die. Or something."

"I'll try not to let you die," Azula said casually and Ty Lee took Azula's hand in hers.

"I appreciate that, princess," Ty Lee replied softly and Azula leaned over, kissing Ty Lee with vivacity.

The warmth again. A security but also a panic of the heart.

Azula's hands were on Ty Lee's waist as their lips met in the orange lamplight of the busy square. Ty Lee pressed her body against Azula's. Without hesitation, their tongues intertwined. It was much more forceful and probably entirely inappropriate for the middle of the Upper Ring.

The kiss broke with the desperate need for both of them to catch their breath.

And the desperate need to do it again.


	4. Victory is Sweet

Victory was sweet. Azula rose from the Earth King's throne with a smug smile and a hefty dose of confidence. She decided she would like the one in the Fire Nation better; _how _she dreamt of the day that the throne room would glow blue. It would fall in eerie shadows and bright cerulean highlights, and perhaps bringing Zuko into her plan might pose an obstacle on her path to the throne.

Then again, father would not make Zuko Fire Lord in a million years. It was not an option in his mind, Azula was certain.

"I can't believe we pulled that off," sang the voice of a retired acrobat.

Azula was met by Ty Lee in front of her as Mai had seized Zuko. It was a moment in which Mai and Zuko seemed to be figuring out if they were _them _and the only logical next step would be to make out in front of everyone.

"That's disgusting," Azula murmured about her brother and Mai.

"I think it's cute," Ty Lee said before her eyes flickered. She did not intend to disagree with the princess. "But I mean, love is for pretty people."

"Like us," Azula replies, peeling her eyes from the sight. And they fall on the lips of her accomplice.

Azula did it. Impulsively and spontaneously and she was likely to swiftly blame it on adrenaline. The swell of victory in her chest or something painfully poetic like that. That the lips against hers were only there because of the aftermath of the heat of the battle.

But there is more swelter than the crystal catacombs or Uncle's flames that Azula blocked. It is a slow fire, consuming from the toes and higher, higher, higher...

"What?" Zuko interrupted their kiss, finally ceasing _eating _Azula's best friend. "Are you two...?"

"Oh, we're not together," Azula said as Ty Lee was touching her lips with a confused expression on her delicate features.

"So, she says," Mai murmured with a cocked eyebrow.

Azula shot Mai a silencing glance and Ty Lee could only laugh.

"They are definitely together, Zuko," Mai continued without the approval of the princess.

"I will tell you when we are together," Azula purred confidently and, with a turn of a heel, she walked through the arches of the palace, a small, slender form against the backdrop of the _far _larger thing she claimed as hers.

Claiming the Earth Kingdom was one thing, claiming a girlfriend was something else entirely.


	5. The Ship Home

The journey was needlessly long. It was expedited due to the significance of the princess and prince overthrowing Ba Sing Se, certainly, but Ty Lee was bored and the moment they got onto the ship she felt a wave of relief. The steel was worn and the sea rough, the breeze cold and the sun obscured by clouds as they left the Earth Kingdom and headed towards Fire Nation waters. Or perhaps it was _all _Fire Nation waters after Ba Sing Se fell. Is the Earth Kingdom technically owned by the Fire Nation now? Ty Lee had no idea.

She did not see Azula for the entire first day of the voyage at sea. The princess was occupied with military men, politics and her discoveries in Ba Sing Se. It was how it always was with her, Ty Lee supposed. Azula always tended to be very serious, focused and goal oriented, the absolute opposite of Ty Lee.

Ty Lee practiced in the night, the cool wind whipping through her braid and her bangs. Zuko and Mai were off somewhere, presumably sleeping together, jumping right into things after so much time apart. Jealous. Ty Lee was _jealous _of Mai and Zuko. Ugh. It made her queasy to think she could be jealous of such flawed people.

Her mother once told her to, when she felt jealous, remember she had to be jealous of _everything _about people. So if she was jealous about how Zuko looked back at Mai, she also had to be jealous of Mai's grey aura and Zuko's scarred face. If she was jealous of the way they fell into each other like puzzle pieces, fitting together so perfectly, she had to be jealous of Mai's oppressive parents and Zuko's exile.

But she _was _jealous. Her mother's teachings were absolutely useless as she saw them and then looked at Azula and wondered what crime she had committed to deserve being in love with someone like that. Maybe love was jealous and cruel, manipulative and petty. Like Azula. Or maybe Ty Lee was just loving wrong.

"You don't look particularly bubbly." Azula. At the worst possible time. "Are you not excited about the upcoming banquets? Have you practiced your gracious speech? Hm, perhaps better if you don't say anything and just, bat your eyes."

Ty Lee did not have a response to that. But they were alone, here on the deck of a warship, alone in the middle of the ocean. The sea simply went on for miles. Isolation. Alone with Azula did not sound terribly bad to Ty Lee, if it were not for the indecisive nature of their relationship.

Azula was the kind of person who would put one arm around you and stab you with the other, then visit you in the hospital the next day. But Ty Lee could not help but be drawn to her like a moth to flame, and as Azula walked with her towards the bow of the ship she could feel her wings incinerating.

"Am I still your date?" Ty Lee murmured, raising an eyebrow. She was almost afraid to ask, but Azula underestimated her intelligence greatly and tended to shrug off her remarks that were too forward as her being a moron.

"I suppose," Azula sighed, studying her nails.

She had a smile in her golden eyes but a pointedly bored expression on her face. Ty Lee fought back a smile at how she could see Azula gradually melting. Of course, Ty Lee was certain she would get burnt if Azula's gold melted down and drowned her, but it would not be a bad way to go.

"Mai and Zuko sure got together quickly," Ty Lee said, trying to sound snarky and gossipy and not jealous. She thought she succeeded because Azula snickered.

"They're not going to do any better," Azula sighed. "Let's let them be happy and mock them relentlessly."

"I _would _like to be in a royal wedding," Ty Lee replied, smiling faintly. One of her goals in life was to be in as many weddings as possible.

"You can be in mine, even if Zuko does the inevitable and ruins his relationship with Mai," Azula said before realizing the multitude of ways her words could go. "But right now I have far more important things to worry about than my brother's sex life. Like winning a war singlehandedly and stopping an invasion of the Fire Nation."

"So, you never just stop and think about sex or love or a royal wedding..."

"I'll have plenty of time to think about sex and love and a royal wedding after I'm Fire Lord," Azula said calmly and Ty Lee swallowed. "If it concerns you so much, I can appoint you as my romantic advisor. I'm sure that's a thing. You know, it's a thing if I want it to be a thing."

"Well, as your romantic advisor..." Ty Lee murmured, her heart skipping a beat.

She kissed Azula on the lips.

The cold ship was significantly warmer.


	6. Raiki

"Yay, vacation!" Ty Lee said, hoping the others would respond favorably. They certainly did not. Mai sighed, Zuko was aggravated, and Azula had a fire behind her eyes that she refused to comment on.

"It's not a big deal." Azula blinked twice, her lip twitching. "It's just a normal thing for him to do, I'm sure."

She did not believe her words, although she knew she would have to come to terms with them by the time she reached that boat to Ember Island. He had never sent _her _away while he was having important meetings. He _invited _her to the meetings, despite her youth. And suddenly Zuko turned up and she was sent on a forced vacation with far lesser beings.

"I'm sure he just didn't want to leave you out of our fun," Ty Lee said to Azula as Mai dragged Zuko away from the scene. He looked utterly dejected and Mai was finding that half of her life was trying to console her boyfriend's daddy issues.

Azula crossed her arms and shrugged. "Yes, he's so _considerate _of my level of entertainment. So help me, if you tell Zuko I'm pissed about this..."

"My lips are sealed," Ty Lee said firmly and Azula supposed she had to believe her. There was a certain level of trust developing that made Azula almost as uncomfortable as the alien and new sexual thoughts that haunted her when she was not distracted.

And the desire to act them out was never stronger than now.

"Well, they're off fucking by now, I'm sure. Come keep me busy." Azula seized Ty Lee by the sleeve and yanked on her.

Ty Lee's lips parted in surprise before she loosened and followed Azula.

"You know," Ty Lee said as she leapt onto Azula's bed, lying on her back. Azula gazed intently at the window, trying not to look at the gentle heave of her companion's chest as she breathed. "You could really use a vacation. You seem so _tense_, and it's like definitely unhealthy for you. You won a like hundred year long war. Maybe treat yourself?"

"I'd love to _treat _myself by being included in my father's business after doing all of the dirty work for him. But that's just him. Classic him," Azula sighed, shutting the door before anyone could overhear. She was always the perfect daughter and had no desire to be viewed as anything but.

Ty Lee frowned and tried to think.

"How long has it been since you've done something _not _war related?" Ty Lee offered and Azula did not bite. "Do you want me to give you raiki?"

"Give me what?" Azula raised her left eyebrow, half of the time unsure what Ty Lee was talking about.

"Raiki. It's like... a massage but not really and it makes your chi flow and it's like relaxing and centering and stuff. I don't know how to describe it well," Ty Lee said, batting her eyes.

"It can't hurt?" Azula knew she was damaging herself by agreeing to this. It was bound to leave her with a new host of uncomfortable images that she was not comfortable living in her head as she was in training or around dignitaries.

"Alright." Ty Lee leapt up from the bed and patted on the mattress. While Azula did not desire to be treated as a poodle-monkey, she lied down on the bed as instructed.

Ty Lee closed the curtains and basked the room in a dark red glow. It obscured them both in shadow and Azula could barely see the outline of the lips she desperately wanted to kiss again. Not again. She could not afford to do it again.

"So, just close your eyes," Ty Lee said and Azula again obeyed. This was Ty Lee's lucky day; Azula habitually hated being told what to do. "And clear your mind. Don't think about anything."

She felt hands on her, but not quite. It sent shivers through her despite the lack of contact. The motions of her hands had a genuine feeling that Azula could associate with lightning. Ty Lee's hands guided Azula's body like Azula guided lightning and then she was getting quite distracted from _clearing her mind_ as Ty Lee said...

Azula's eyes opened and Ty Lee froze.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ty Lee squeaked, her heart skipping a beat.

"This is unbearable," Azula said regally and Ty Lee wrung her hands anxiously.

But Azula leaned forward, kissing Ty Lee with no regard for anything anymore.

They sunk into each other in the dimly lit room.


	7. The Beach

**Well, this is no longer an Advent Calendar, evidently. I'm just making it a drabble series. Doing daily updates during my busiest time of year was probably a bad idea. But I plan to finish this drabble series and update as much as I can. I aim to have it done by January. **

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><p>"I'm not jealous," Azula said airily, wrapping her robe tightly around herself.<p>

She smelled permanently of beach and her hair was stained with sand. It felt starchy and uncomfortable and she was sure it would terrify servants as soon as she returned. Ty Lee was toying with seashells she collected and looking genuinely miserable. The bonfire of madness was enlightening, but Ty Lee whining about feeling _so bad _for hurting Azula's feelings was far worse.

"You just, you said we... we were just friends so many times," Ty Lee chimed again and Azula fought the urge to throttle her.

"I know what I said. And I meant it. If you think we would be better off with other people..." Azula waved her hand dismissively and crawled into her bed. Ty Lee caught a glimpse of what was beneath her robe, realized the princess was naked, realized she wanted her desperately, and realized she spent the earlier part of the night trying to get Azula a date other than her.

"I really like you, Azula," Ty Lee murmured, slipping under her own blankets. "A lot."

"Well, you certainly show it by running around with any boy who looks at your tits," Azula said in a silken tone and Ty Lee buried her face in her pillow.

"You felt bad when you laughed at me," Ty Lee stated, almost defensively.

Azula yawned in response. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. It isn't necessarily for you to decide."

They were silent for some time. Ty Lee worried that their relationship was irreparable. She was keeping her thoughts positive about this vacation, and she had to admit the fire was cathartic. But losing Azula was not worth any of that.

Ty Lee closed her eyes and woke up in the middle of the night. _Ugh_. She was not going to be able to sleep. Her dreams were of Azula, dreams she should not be having about a princess. Azula was asleep across the room in her bed and Ty Lee gazed at her with a peculiar longing.

She crept into Azula's bed, hoping she would not get her face burned off, and lay down beside Azula. The princess opened her eyes, baffled, and studied Ty Lee closely.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Azula remarked with a small, mocking smirk. Ty Lee slipped under the blankets and Azula did not tell her to go away, although she knew she should.

"Azula," Ty Lee whispered, her heart in her throat. "Men were never enough for me."

She kissed the princess on the lips. Azula resented to admit how much she liked it. And loathed that she could not prove that she could get someone other than Ty Lee to go out with her. The night was a mess, and this damp kiss is messier.

And Ty Lee added, before diving into another kiss, "You're the only thing that will _ever _satisfy me."

Azula smirked as Ty Lee kissed her again, and trailed her lips down Azula's neck. The princess's golden eyes closed for a moment in either victory or bliss; she was not sure which. As Ty Lee was making remarkably quick work of the robe wrapped around Azula's body, and kissed her all over, feverish burning.

Melodic moans from the princess, and the satisfaction of reigning victorious.

_No one _will ever be enough for Ty Lee but Azula.


	8. Teenage Love

"There's nothing to talk about," Azula murmured as Ty Lee cornered her on the boat.

They were on their way back from Ember Island and the memories of sea soaked sex were permeating Azula's thoughts. Her mind was better used for other pursuits than such human desires. And she found herself longing for more in ways that she did not want to think about, yet thought about all the time.

"You don't have to talk about it," Ty Lee said happily and Azula made a momentary face of displeasure. Ty Lee felt her heart skip a beat, but Azula's face returned to a smug neutral position. "I think we'll have some fond memories of this trip."

Azula examined Ty Lee for a moment. First image of her swinging on chandeliers, which brought a small smile to Azula's red lips. Second image of her slipping beneath the scratchy blankets of Lo and Li's house. Third image of the inevitable moment when Ty Lee would be taken away, possibly killed.

She stared at the water after that image forced its way into her brain. The first two brought her the pleasant warmth that came with their kisses. The ability to erase her constant nagging thoughts and plans and plots. The third one was more realistic; it was the one that haunted her.

Every time she had anything that made her happy, it disappeared. People she liked. Objects. Everything. Everything she had went away in the end. And the fact that she was getting so attached to Ty Lee perturbed her to the core and offended her to the soul.

Azula picked at her chapped lips and closed her eyes. Ty Lee was still standing there when she opened them, gazing intently at Azula. It made the princess uncomfortable because she wanted to take her and keep her and jealously guard her. But it would never happen.

"It was just sex," Azula finally decided. "You know that. You don't think... you don't think I _like _you, do you?"

Ty Lee shook her head too enthusiastically. The princess was picking at her skin and Ty Lee wanted to stop her but also did not want to be lashed out at. Skirting around violence was no proper idea of romance but she wanted it and craved it more than she wanted anything.

She always was glad that Azula called a little louder.

"It's just sex. I get it," Ty Lee said but her voice faltered slightly.

Azula tried to take pleasure in it but simply found it cold. That was how she often made things in her mind; cold and scientific. If things were icy and emotionless, they could not hurt. Attachments and romances were setbacks for the weak willed.

"Do you love me?" Azula asked, feeling needy and weak for asking. The bitter sea breeze brushed against her body and she ached.

"Obviously," Ty Lee said with such sass and casualness Azula should have burnt her.

Scarred her. Made her less beautiful and desirable to everyone. Made it impossible for her to ever realize Azula was a dead end and she would be better off finding a nice, stable, handsome, sturdy husband to build her a handsome study life. She simply wanted to chain Ty Lee to her hip but also push her away and just watch her go up in flames and it was all too confusing.

"Let's just be friends," Azula said and Ty Lee had to hold back a hollow laugh. Both of them knew very well they were not ever going to go back to just being friends.

"Let's be lovers," Ty Lee replied and Azula realized that Ty Lee had never opposed her. Mai had in passing, occasionally doubted Azula and it was usually helpful. "Come on. Run away with me and start another war."

Azula had to fight. Because half of her wanted it, wanted this romance. But half of her knew better, knew that it was short term and brought on by hormones and whatever chemicals are released when you fuck someone over and over and orgasm repeatedly.

"After Sozin's Comet, we'll be lovers," Azula said coldly, calmly, her voice purring and smug. And Ty Lee ate it up. "You can be my Fire Lady."

"Two kids," Ty Lee demanded.

"Girls."

"I was going to say boys..." Ty Lee frowned faintly but it was quickly conquered by a goofy grin.

"One girl, one boy. Compromise."

And Azula kissed her for a split second on the lips. It tasted nice. It felt nice.

Immediately afterwards, Azula disappeared to find Mai. It was too complicated being around Ty Lee.

As much as she loved it.

She may have been a weapon of mass destruction and the conqueror of Ba Sing Se, but she was also a fourteen year old girl... possibly in love. Possibly in love. The thought was revolting, enough to nearly make her hurl.

But it was, she decided, true.


	9. The Sweetness Fades

**AN: **This fic was having problems with this chapter that some people informed me about it being buggy. So I'm taking it down and reuploading it and hoping that fixes it.

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><p>It was their first date. Ty Lee was beyond excited, so far beyond excited she could not fathom it. Azula just looked slightly ill. It was another celebration banquet for the victory, and they were finally together as dates. Fire Lord Ozai did not object, but Ty Lee was fairly certain he was not about to introduce the circus freak as his daughter's girlfriend.<p>

"You look almost as queasy as Zuko," Ty Lee laughed, jabbing Azula in the ribs.

Azula restrained a bolt of lightning and collected herself. "Don't do that," she said in a royal, dignified tone but Ty Lee was giggling. Azula sincerely hoped she never lost her naivety. She really genuinely thought she was in the position to do _friend _things with the crown princess.

Well, not _currently_ crown princess, but the reason Zuko was a little green in the face and had his lips clamped shut was because Azula absolutely insisted that he give a detailed speech about how he slew the Avatar. She looked forward to it greatly.

"So, are you going to do that dance with me?" Ty Lee asked, taking Azula gently by the hand.

Azula then realized that she was actually on a date. A _real _date and it was romantic. It filled her with a sensation she had never felt before. Why was it that she could take the Earth Kingdom, fight earthbenders, hit the Avatar with lightning as he lay waste to a room of soldiers, and somehow still look gorgeous but she could not handle a _date_.

A date. Twelve year old children went on dates. Peasants went on dates and did not throw up for hours beforehand. It was depressing and very, very far beneath her.

They escaped after the dance. Everyone was focused on Zuko, and usually Azula would be frustrated, but she was grateful to make it out. The room was suppressing her breathing and she felt ridiculous being so unnerved when she usually had absolute political grace.

It was at that moment she had to admit she was human, and had human wants and desires. It was easy to pretend to be a statuesque royal, or a brutal weapon. A honed weapon designed solely to _accomplish_. But then she was knocked down a few notches when someone gave her tingling feelings inside that she had never experienced before.

"It's a pretty nice night," Ty Lee commented, and Azula wondered why she would want to date someone who thought it was interesting to discuss the weather.

_"The beginning... sweetness never stays," father said as soon as Azula explained, awkwardly and uncomfortably, that she was taking Ty Lee as her date. "You're going to regret it."_

_ "You know that?" Azula asked, genuinely concerned and not domineering. Her father was the only person she did not try to control and subjugate. He was, after all, the only person who ranked above her._

_ "I do. I haven't gotten to this age without my fair share of failed relationships," he said and Azula hoped it was because he was undesirable and not because of a true trend. _

_ And then she told herself that it did not matter in the end, and it was just the physical; she was just trying to cure the physical ailment of sexual attraction and she did not need to worry about a relationship working out._

_ "I don't expect the sweetness to stay, father," Azula said crisply, without second thought._

_ He smiled faintly at her, as if she was a small child who said something ridiculous and naive. _

_ Maybe she did._

"I suppose," Azula replied, unsure exactly what else to say. It might have been better to go as dates to a political event than to be stranded alone in a restaurant, but it did not make it any less awkward and uncomfortable. "So, you've been on dates before?"

"Yes." Ty Lee looked very uncomfortable and Azula realized she had said something against protocol. Why no one trained her for this, she had no idea. "But, this is even more interesting than being a date to that military ball last year."

"What military ball? You dated a soldier?" Azula closed her mouth as soon as she snapped at her. _Ugh_. There was nothing more frustrating than not having absolute control of herself, others and the situation, and she was lacking all of those at this moment.

"He was the son of my father's friend and he was stationed in the town I was performing in. I didn't end in anything. It was just a date," Ty Lee said, sounding genuinely disappointed.

"Well, what should it have ended like?" Azula asked, before mentally cringing. She was going to burn _so _many things when she got home.

"Like this," Ty Lee said before touching her lips to Azula's.

And in that moment, there was contentment.

Even if Azula had no idea what to do on a date.


	10. All Day War Meeting

"All day war meeting, huh?" asked a voice as Azula walked back to the wing of the palace hosting her family's bedrooms and their private parlors and offices.

"Who let you in?" Azula purred with a hint of mockery in her tone.

She was met by lips on her cheek, a greeting Azula learned was customary for romantic couples. Azula moved to kiss Ty Lee on the lips, but she stepped away.

"I am _super _bored. Mai was super bored too, but she's _always _super bored. Anyway, she had to go to some family thing or something so now I'm here alone and hi it's nice to see you," Ty Lee said rapidly and Azula could only nod slowly.

"I am very tired," Azula said softly, shutting the door of the parlor and walking to the sofa. She settled down, reclining in the same manner she sat upon thrones.

"So, what was the war meeting about?" Ty Lee asked lightly, batting her eyelashes. Azula simply crossed her legs with a smug smirk of superiority.

"Well, I think telling you could be considered treason," Azula purred and Ty Lee pouted her lips. "But, given the fact that you were instrumental in the fall of Ba Sing Se, I think I will make an exception. It isn't as if father can argue; I might as well have run that meeting."

Ty Lee moved towards Azula, hesitated about what to do, and then sat directly on her lap, facing her. The princess had a slight jolted expression in her eyes, but she managed to control it before she genuinely showed shock or discomfort.

Azula, with slight hesitation, set her hands on Ty Lee's hips.

"Alright, I'm listening really intently now," Ty Lee said, narrowing her eyes in an expression she thought made her look smarter. Azula suppressed her laughter and kept her eyes and lips icy.

"Well, now I'm slightly distracted," Azula said, one of her dark eyebrows raised. "There's the eclipse of course. Now that's _boring_. It isn't as if their invasion will do very well since we, well, defeated all of their armies."

"And without the Avatar," Ty Lee continued and Azula simply made a hmming sound. "What? What?"

"Nothing at all," Azula said with such honesty in her tone that Ty Lee believed her. She knew very well that the princess liked to mess with people, string them along and perpetually conceal information for what Ty Lee supposed was just fun. "Yes, without the Avatar, we're just going to hold out on that. And then when the comet comes, we're going to burn everything to the ground."

Ty Lee sank slightly, her body no longer tensed and pressed against Azula. "Burn... everything."

"Everything. And just start over. It's nice. It's kind of refreshing. You know that wildfires exist for a reason. They burn the forest so the old rot and trees will die and then the new seeds will sprout," Azula said softly and Ty Lee found it far too poetic. "And sometimes nature just needs a little push."

"And then what? After the war. I mean, once you burn everything to the ground it's not like there's a war anymore," Ty Lee said and Azula realized Ty Lee's concerned expression was not about the effects of razing the Earth Kingdom; she was asking about their... whatever this was. Relationship?

"You did say that after Sozin's Comet, we would be lovers."

"With two eventual children, yes. No promises," Azula breathed and Ty Lee poked her in the arm, but the reverberating sensation through her arm made her shriek. "You can't do that. That's an executable offense if there ever was one."

"I didn't even block your chi," Ty Lee whined and Azula realized she should do something about her overconfidence. It could only lead to trouble down the line. She should have never admitted that she wanted something more with Ty Lee, and now she had to face the repercussions of her actions.

"Alright, I'm sure there's nothing in the lawbooks about poking royalty in pressure points as a form of coercion, but I think we can assume that it's some form of treason," Azula said, but she was laughing very faintly.

She thought about, for a moment, how she spent her life being honed into a weapon. Azula was bred for the purpose of conquest. And people treated her as a deadly force. People treated her as they treated lightning. But Ty Lee seemed to... be like a real friend.

Together, Azula did not feel like a princess or her father's burning blue blade. She felt just like an ordinary teenage girl.

And that, Azula realized as Ty Lee pressed her lips against Azula's, was not terrible.

It was strangely relieving, in a way Azula would have never believed if someone told her three months ago.


	11. Before the Invasion

It was going to be easy. That much was evident. It was not as if they could pull off a full scale invasion after what Azula did to Ba Sing Se. And the ample forewarning was fantastic; it was the first thing the Earth Kingdom told them. It was for that reason that it made sense for the Fire Nation to reign. The Earth Kingdom was weak.

Azula stared out of the window, gazing at the courtyard below. Her room always had the nicest view. Lattices and gold statues... and the endless patrol of soldiers keeping people out.

And keeping Azula in.

The sun set and Azula decided she would miss it greatly for the few minutes it would be gone the next day. That gave her a small lurch in the stomach that was unfamiliar. Fear of failure was normal, but Azula simply could not fail at the task her father allotted to her. Well, the task she came up with that he quickly snatched up and took credit for.

But tolerating her father was the only way she would get the throne. Particularly with Zuko home.

Azula stood to go to bed, deciding she should at least _try _to sleep before the second most defining moment in her military career. But the moment she turned around, something cracked outside. A small noise, one that only someone constantly attentive could pick up.

She spun around to see a shadowy form running across the lattices and hedges, directly over the heads of soldiers Azula decided she was going to have banished when she became Fire Lord. Some job protecting her they were doing as the shadow danced right over their heads.

Azula lit two fingers before the shadow became crystalline clear and leapt from the edge of the courtyard to the windowsill of the room below. And as Azula waited for a moment, blinking several times, a slender hand seized the golden sill and pulled a familiar body up.

The princess opened the window, nearly knocking Ty Lee off of her careful perch, and she climbed inside.

"Okay, I can't sleep," Ty Lee announces quietly as Azula shuts the window.

"So you ran all the way across town and illegally snuck into the royal palace?" Azula asked slowly, each word sharp and deliberate.

Ty Lee shrugged in response. She was not quite articulate enough to snap anything back.

"I wanted to see you before it starts," Ty Lee said after catching her breath. Her voice was still breathy after all of her panting.

"Someday gravity is going to get very angry at you and you'll suffer a deadly fall," Azula remarked, looking out of the window at the courtyard Ty Lee treated as a simple obstacle course.

"Well, until then, I think I'll keep ignoring it," Ty Lee replied with a smile.

"Consoling people is a waste of my time." Azula tugs at the sash of her kimono robe and tries not to look for too long at Ty Lee. This is a devastating distraction.

"I just wanted to see you," Ty Lee said and Azula could not full fathom it. No one would risk that much simply to visit her when they were having an insomniac night. "Are you going to be sleeping tonight?"

"Probably not," Azula replied with a careless shrug. "I can't slip up tomorrow for a second."

"As if you will," Ty Lee said with a laugh. But her laughter was quickly silenced by how serious Azula looked. "Was that not a joke?"

"I guess it was," Azula lied and Ty Lee believed her entirely. How Azula could be dating someone so _gullible_, Azula could not comprehend.

Ty Lee could not imagine Azula having a weakness. And that, looking back, was likely why things went so awry. She did not know Azula until it was almost too late. But that night, the night before the Invasion, they could pretend they were not kidding themselves.

Azula did know better; Ty Lee should have known better.

But they did it anyway.

Ty Lee said, "You know what I heard enhances physical performance in women?"

Azula paused. She felt as if she should know the answer. She knew _every _answer.

Ty Lee noticed she did not know and simply said, "This."

And there was a kiss that led to much more.


	12. Zuko's Gone

"Zuko's gone," Azula said, her back pressed against the window.

"Is Mai okay?" Ty Lee asked before realizing perhaps it was the wrong question. Azula did not seem alright in the slightest. "We won. Good right?"

It was the tipping point. The moment everything was starting to crumble and Ty Lee would not admit it and Azula simply could not see it. But they stood there, in Azula's bedroom, trying to figure it out futilely.

"She hates him now, or something," Azula sighed with a shrug. "I gave him everything. And he just ran off because daddy doesn't love him enough."

Ty Lee squirmed slightly from the bitterness in Azula's words. She had seen the five hundred yard stare in Azula's golden eyes before. Many times before as she pretended not to notice. Or interrupted it with ridiculous questions she knew the answers of. Or offered to put eye shadow on her as if it could change the fact that she could disappear in an instant.

"We won but this is just the beginning. My father isn't going to take Zuko leaving lying down," Azula breathed. The princess chewed on her lips and then picked at them, peeling off the skin and leaving bright red streaks.

Ty Lee did not know what to do. She was not prepared for this kind of situation as she touched Azula's hand and tried to keep her from peeling anything else off of her body or making herself bleed further. She held her hand for a moment, as if she could read her mind through her skin.

But she could not.

"What's Zuko going to do? It's not like he can stop the comet from coming," Ty Lee whispered hopefully, flashing Azula a smile.

But the princess's eyes were not focused, nor was she even looking at Ty Lee. She gazed at the blank wall, painted crimson but blackened with old burns that no one bothered to paint over.

"Well, I suppose it's just one less thing in the way of you being Fire Lady," Azula said.

Her quest for the throne was the most important thing to her. And she knew that if she thrust herself into the state of mind that she would have it in the future now that Zuko was gone, she could make it hurt less.

"Azula..." Ty Lee said, swallowing. "I love you."

Azula blinked once as she realized it was a different _I love you _than Ty Lee threw about wildly. She could only look at her for a moment. There was no flirtatious response of_, I know_.

The princess said only, "You really do have poor decision making skills, don't you?"

Ty Lee looked hurt. Azula shrugged and toyed with Ty Lee's fingers, her lips in a slight pursed pout of rose red. They stared at each other, this hollowness enveloping them.

"I love you regardless of what happens, you know? Look, we just fended off an invasion and, uh, well, even though the Avatar is back and that sucks, we're still on top. And now we have prisoners of war too. It's all going to be awesome," Ty Lee said as brightly as she could. Her positive attitude that usually sickened Azula was nice on her ears.

All she had heard all day was her father's wrath and strategists asking _what now_.

"I was the one who told him that Zuko killed the Avatar," Azula said and Ty Lee suddenly understood. She looked up and down Azula, searching for a mark. A bruise or a burn.

"Your hair is down," Ty Lee said and Azula did not think to pull back before Ty Lee tugged up her raven hair and revealed the small burns on her neck. Azula batted Ty Lee's hand away and turned to leave.

"Console Mai. I don't need it," she snapped but Ty Lee grabbed her by the wrist, spun her, and pulled her into a kiss.

They remained pressed together, their lips locked.

It felt good. A warmth in the calm before the storm.

The kiss made sense, unlike everything else.


	13. Before the Boiling Rock

Azula was training relentlessly. It never seemed to end, and it was the only way she could clear her mind. Father called it preparation for the comet and preparation to face Zuko if he was sighted. And Azula called it trying to forget. She avoided her friends like the plague.

Maybe they cared. Maybe they did not.

As Azula finished training one day, she lay down on a bench near the throne room, her body damp with sweat. Her training clothes clung to her skin. And she was only aware of that when two bright eyes were focused on her.

"Who let you in?" Azula asked, this time her words harsh and not teasing.

"I'm beginning to think that's how you say hello," Ty Lee said sweetly before realizing Azula meant it this time. She cleared her throat and explained, "My dad is here for some dumb military thing. I thought maybe I could see you after you vanished off of the face of the earth for two weeks."

"I've been occupied. I have to focus on my brother. He needs to be brought to justice," Azula said and Ty Lee could tell the words were rehearsed, but pretty enough to be scripted by Azula herself.

"It had nothing to do with you," Ty Lee said softly, touching Azula's shoulder. Azula pushed her hand away and Ty Lee squeaked like a mouse being poked by something sharp.

"Get Mai," Azula said, sitting up slowly. And something was very different in her eyes, something Ty Lee did not like. They did not belong to the girl she had been dating for so long.

Ty Lee did get Mai. They were in Azula's bedroom. Azula's hair was still wet from the bath, and tied up in a bun she made herself ─ it was easy to tell from how messy it was. Mai was uncomfortable and itching to leave. She was done with this bullshit, Zuko was gone, and she would be perfectly content just staying out of the business of war for a while.

"I want to talk to you about my brother. My father told me that it was my responsibility to reprimand him since..." She hesitated. Mai could tell that Azula was trying to figure out if Mai and Ty Lee were worthy of knowing, which was honestly getting tiring; Ty Lee was leaning towards Azula waiting impatiently. "Since I was the one who... who spared him."

Mai closed her eyes for a moment at the pain in Azula's words. She was unraveling like a ball of yarn dropped from a tall table and there was nothing that could be done. It was Ozai's fault, and maybe a bit of everyone's.

"Azula, anyone would've done it," Ty Lee said and Mai cringed.

"Don't talk. I'm saying something important," Azula said coolly and Ty Lee had genuinely never been addressed by Azula that way. It made her infinitely uncomfortable. "I want to make sure I can count on you both. Mai, could you slit his throat?"

Mai paused and Azula did not like the silence. "I wouldn't like to if I had the choice. But I guess I would." She shrugged. Azula searched for a lie but was too late; Mai's expression had vanished before she could read it properly.

"And you," Azula said and Ty Lee swallowed. "Can you set aside your feelings to join me this last time?"

_No_. "Yes."

"Excellent. I'll see you both at training tomorrow at sunrise," Azula stated and Mai opened her mouth to protest. But she quickly changed her mind.

Mai exited as quickly as she could. Azula was a firework with the fuse nearly gone. And Mai had just been told by her parents exactly who she was supposed to marry now that Zuko was branded a permanent traitor. The contract made between she and Zuko when they were youths had to be fulfilled, and Mai was... she was lost in it. Her life was over and Azula's teetering psyche and abusive father were not priorities.

But they were priorities to Ty Lee. "I'm not leaving until you tell me what's wrong," Ty Lee said as firmly as she could. Azula just shook her head, pulling up her slipping sleeve.

"Nothing," Azula said, stepping towards Ty Lee. She pressed her lips against the acrobat's fiercely.

Ty Lee pushed on her for a moment, but then she realized Azula was too far gone. And so she set her hands behind Azula's back and pulled her closer into the kiss.

It pained them both.

But it was the last pleasure before the Boiling Rock.


	14. Dry Lightning

**This one is a time skip to after The Search.**

* * *

><p>Four years after Azula vanished, dry lightning crashed in the night. It felt ominous, or significant, or something to Ty Lee. She was not sure what, but the sight of it cracking across the sky without rain felt significant. The stars were blacked out by smog. Ty Lee was used to being able to see the strands of stardust and every constellation on Kyoshi Island, but the sky was very dark in Caldera.<p>

She walked back into the palace, taking another deep breath. It was a difficult moment. Far, far too difficult. Azula was here. And Azula was hurt. She was unconscious, drugged by Zuko. They found her half dead, which was not how Ty Lee wanted her to be found. Or maybe Ty Lee did _not _want her to be found.

No, no, Ty Lee was glad Azula was home. Whether Azula would be glad about being home was another matter entirely. Ty Lee walked to Zuko, who had not left the bedside of Azula for the entire day.

"I'm glad you came," Zuko said and Ty Lee had no immediate response. She still felt slightly in a daze. "I know things weren't, uh, so great last time you saw her. But she'll be happy to see you."

"I find that hard to believe," Ty Lee said quietly and Zuko cleared his throat. "But I couldn't _not _come."

She had been waiting for this letter. Deep down, she knew it would never come. But, lo and behold, it did. And she was the first person Zuko told, before Ursa or Ozai or Mai. As if it would do something, as if it would matter. Ty Lee did not know what to think and she hated it. Not thinking was always easier.

"Can you stay with her? I'm... I need a break," Zuko suggested and Ty Lee nodded sharply, like a little bird. Fire Lord Zuko smiled faintly at her, though the movement of his muscles was forced, and headed to the bathroom.

Ty Lee sat down on the mattress. It creaked slightly as she gazed at Azula for a moment. She looked very peaceful. Ty Lee did not think she had ever seen Azula sleep so peacefully. And for a moment Azula looked like a corpse to her and her heart leapt with panic.

But she did not break her stare. "You hate me. I know you hate me. But I missed you."

Of course Azula could not hear. She was in a drug induced slumber, and she probably would not be listening to Ty Lee even if she were awake.

Agni, she looked terrible. Needless to say, despite how powerful you are in combat and sharp your tongue is, when you don't know how to comb your own hair, the outside world is not the place for you. And Azula was not ready for life on her own or life as a fugitive.

Nobody knew what happened. They just knew they found her. And she was alive.

Azula's eyes flickered open and Ty Lee momentarily panicked. The princess squinted it at her for a moment.

"What are you doing here?" Azula asked dizzily and Ty Lee was not sure Azula even knew what 'here' was. "I missed you." Evidently she was wacked out and dazed.

But Ty Lee ignored her morality and better judgment, leaned forward, and kissed Azula on the lips.

It felt right.


	15. Nightmare

Azula woke screaming. Her left arm was bloodied from her fingernails and she could feel it, hot against her skin. Her heart raced with absolute panic and the door burst open. Azula jumped, lighting both of her hands on fire in defense of herself. But it was Ty Lee, who had not left the palace for the past two weeks since Azula was abducted and taken home against her will.

"Are okay?" Ty Lee asked, rubbing her eye. Azula did not know what to say to that; nobody had ever cared about her nightmares before.

"Yeah," Azula said softly. "Just a nightmare. It wasn't real."

"Okay." Ty Lee stood in the doorway for a moment, unsure what to do. She felt somewhat ridiculous for running across the hall and barging into Azula's room. "I was having nightmares too when I heard you scream."

"I didn't know you could have bad dreams," Azula said coldly and Ty Lee just feebly shrugged. "Do you want to stay in here?"

The words were difficult for Azula. She did not want to invite Ty Lee back into her life. In fact, it was the absolute last thing she desired. But the acrobat was standing there, staring at Azula like a poodle-monkey begging for food. And so Azula patted the bed next to her and Ty Lee slowly walked inside.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" Ty Lee asked and Azula shook her head. "It can help."

"Don't push it," Azula said icily and Ty Lee nodded like a bird. Azula lay back down and closed her eyes, but she knew she would not sleep. Even though she knew that the dream she inhabited was not real, she saw it every time she closed her golden eyes.

"I want you to feel better," Ty Lee said quietly, desperately longing to kiss Azula again. She had not kissed her since the day she was drugged and in bed.

Six weeks had passed since then and Ty Lee had no desire to go home. She helped Zuko, who was slipping over the edge as he helped repair Azula. Ty Lee felt a responsibility for Princess Azula that she knew was not truly hers. But she could not help but do everything she could for her best friend... for her first love.

"I feel nauseous," Azula complained and Ty Lee did not know what to say. She just touched Azula's arm and ran her fingers along the smooth skin. Azula broke out in goosebumps as Ty Lee did so and the acrobat reveled in the powerful sensation. "Is that your nausea cure?" Azula voice cracked slightly and Ty Lee thought for a moment that maybe her feelings were still reciprocated.

"Yes," Ty Lee said gently. She thought about kissing Azula again, eyeing the curve of her lips accented by the shadows. But she decided against it, knowing Azula would not accept.

They lay there longer, Azula trying to fall back to sleep and trying to avoid talking to Ty Lee. Ty Lee bit her lips and tore them to shreds of blood and flesh. There were so many words she wanted to say, but she did not know how to phrase them. And she knew that Azula would not want to hear them.

But before Ty Lee could make her choice, Azula leaned to the side and kissed her fiercely.

They broke apart for a breathless moment and Azula said, "That's what you want, isn't it?"

"Yes," Ty Lee whispered as Azula kissed her again.

And all was right in the world, if only for a few hours.


	16. Don't Leave Me

"Where are you going?" Ty Lee asked, crossing her arms. Azula looked as if she did not expect to be caught, and Ty Lee supposed it was not strange for her to believe that.

The princess stood with her hand on her windowsill, the hot wind billowing through the room. She had a bag slung over her shoulder and was dressed for the weather. Running away was not planned, and Ty Lee could not let it happen. She simply could not.

It hurt far too much. Azula slowly turned, cautiously, as if she did not want to face Ty Lee. In fact, she genuinely did _not _want to look Ty Lee in the eyes and tell her she was running away. That she could not take this world anymore, or something along those lines.

"I'm leaving," Azula said, trying to be firm and cold, but her voice faltered slightly. She felt a little weak in the knees and she could not explain it. Attachments were absurd. Ty Lee did not matter to Azula enough to keep her here, trapped in this prison without bars. Where she was presided over by _Zuko_.

"Why?" Ty Lee inquired softly. "I won't... I won't stop you."

"I would've left even if you tried to stop me," Azula said coolly and Ty Lee pursed her lips. "You can come with me. Come with me."

Ty Lee gazed at her for a moment and Azula could see the cogs twisting in her mind. She was honestly considering it and that thrilled Azula. Well, it thrilled her before she saw that Ty Lee was going to deny her.

"I can't. You know that I can't, Azula," Ty Lee whispered, wiping her sweaty palms on her nightgown. "Don't leave. I don't care if you leave Zuko but you can't leave me."

Azula averted her eyes, her jaw clenched. "I can't live like this. Not anymore."

Ty Lee hesitated. She supposed Azula had every right to feel that way. But it still made Ty Lee feel this burning sensation deep inside of her. Anger. Because she should have been good enough for Azula, good enough to make her stay.

"I've been at your side every minute. Every nightmare, every..." Ty Lee trailed off because she could see her words... _hurting _the princess. That, she did not anticipate. Azula had a thick armor around her that did not even tear down in her moments of vulnerability, sobbing nights. And it was slowly cracking and crumbling around her.

"I know that." Azula swallowed. She was not as cold as she wanted to be and she was not as detached as she used to be. "If I stay..."

"If you stay, maybe we can be together like we talked about."

"No. It will never be like we talked about because I am _nothing _anymore." Vicious. Striking like a wounded, cornered animal and Ty Lee figured she might as well drive the stake deep into her friend and hope she survived the injury.

"You can leave. But don't expect me to be waiting for you if you decide to come back." That ended it. That made Azula choose what she never thought she would decide.

She stepped forward and touched her lips to Ty Lee's. They grazed across the surface for a moment before pressing fiercely. Ty Lee touched her waist and the slid her hand behind the princess's back, holding her in place.

"Don't leave me," Ty Lee said and Azula closed her eyes, leaning onto her shoulder. The armor was gone, if only for a little while.

"I won't. Not again."


	17. Poison Part I

Ty Lee was in tears, but she was trying to hold them back. She was trying her absolute best to be strong, and she knew she had the potential to be. Azula was behind bars, pacing, kicking things with a clash, tugging at handcuffs until her wrists turned a sickening shade of red.

"Please stop fighting. They'll let you out," Ty Lee said frantically, wrapping her fingers around the bars. Azula looked at her, but said nothing. "Zuko isn't going to do anything drastic. He's _Zuko_."

"I don't deserve this," Azula snarled finally and Ty Lee just shrugged, her lips parted slightly. She did not know what she was supposed to say in response to that.

"I know you don't." Ty Lee was lying, but Azula pretended she was telling the truth.

_Zuko collapsed at the bar. Azula dove to his side, catching him right before his head collided with the counter. Guards sprung into action, surrounding patrons panicked. Ty Lee seized Azula's shoulders through the haze and looked into her eyes; she was as surprised as Zuko. Poison, poison. The Fire Lord was poisoned and before Ty Lee could figure out what was going on, Azula was in handcuffs and Zuko was being carried away as fast as possible._

_Ty Lee followed the princess to the prison, snapping at the barbaric soldiers, not abandoning her. They promised they would not leave each other, and while Ty Lee was notorious for being flaky and flighty, she was a woman of her word in the end._

Azula supposed worse things could have happened to her than being imprisoned. The only bitter truth of it was that Azula was completely innocent for once. She had not done it, and everyone would assume she had. For once, being a liar no longer paid off.

"But..." Ty Lee said after clearing her throat, "did you do it? Please be honest."

"No. I didn't," Azula said fiercely and Ty Lee, for the first time since the event, believed her. "Why would I? I mean... I..." Azula just shook her head. "But who else would have done it? Right? Right?"

Ty Lee did not know what to do. Azula was the first to rush to Zuko when he collapsed, which could point either to innocence or guilt. She had no access to whatever poisoned him, and Ty Lee figured she had to confront the bartender who served Zuko his drink. But, for now, it seemed that Azula was the one most likely to blame.

"I will do everything in my power to prove your innocence." Ty Lee then hesitated as Azula looked far from hopeful. "But if you're lying to me, I don't know what I'm going to do. I just hope you know that if you go down, I'm going with you if I do this."

"I swear I didn't. Poison isn't my style anyway," Azula said, stepping towards Ty Lee. Ty Lee walked to her and intertwined their fingers through the bars.

Ty Lee's lips met Azula's, her cheek pressed against the rough metal. And it felt right for a moment, at least right until Ty Lee could figure out who really poisoned Fire Lord Zuko and save Azula for whatever nasty fate was in store for her.

"I'll be back. I'm not leaving you here alone, okay?" Ty Lee said sharply and Azula nodded. She had very little faith in Ty Lee's ability to stop the inevitable, but it was nice to have someone on her side. Azula never had someone loyal to her due to anything but fear. It felt good, in a way Azula would never confess.

"Don't leave me, okay?" Azula said quietly and Ty Lee nodded.

"I won't. Not again." Ty Lee dove forward and kissed her once more, clinging to her hands for a moment.

And then she set out to do some detective work.

She forced back her emotions, trying to keep control of herself. If it was the last thing she did, she would prove Azula's innocence. She could only hope that Azula was not lying. Because if she was, if Ty Lee had placed her love in the wrong person, she would sink with Azula.


	18. Poison Part II

Azula looked better after being released from prison; Zuko was on the mend in the hospital. And she was forced to visit him, which she supposed would look good after she narrowly escaped a life in prison for a crime she did not commit. Zuko was _glad _to see her, to her surprise.

"You must be superhuman," Azula said as she sat down beside her brother's hospital bed. It felt like both a compliment and an insult, which would be a suitable conversation starter for Azula. "Most people don't survive that much poison."

Zuko stared at her for a moment. "I think I'm just lucky."

"Luck is a lie. It's a word cowardly people use to excuse their failures and downplay their successes," Azula replied coldly and Zuko slowly shook his head. "Now are you going to apologize for locking me in prison?"

"That wasn't me. That was the police," Zuko rasped before clearing his throat. Azula's eyebrows flashed with concern that she quickly concealed. He tried his best not to smile. "You're lucky to have that girl."

"What did I just tell you about luck?" Azula snapped, but her lips were creeping with a teensy smirk. "I love her."

"You better love her. She just saved you from a life in prison," Zuko replied, coughing again. Azula's fingers twitched towards him but she controlled herself. It was almost cute how much she tried to hide her love for her brother. He did not think she could hide her love for Ty Lee much longer.

"So, are you dying?" Azula asked calmly and Zuko shook his head. "She made me come visit you."

"She is a good thing. Don't let her leave you," Zuko said forcefully and Azula shrugged and averted her eyes. "Don't do that. I know you're terrified of letting people in, but you can't pass her up."

"I will keep that in mind, brother," Azula said with a surgical and sterile tone, and she quickly excused herself from the hospital room. It was heavily guarded, and the royal soldiers stared at her analytically as she left, as if they expected her to start burning down the hospital at any moment.

Azula thought maybe Zuko was right. Ty Lee was honestly the only person who did not look at her like she was about to combust or break down. She looked at her the same way she had always looked at her; with love.

Ty Lee was in the tea shop, analyzing two different cookies as the adolescent girl at the counter looked exasperated.

"Which of these has more frosting?" Ty Lee inquired slowly, expecting Azula to blow her off. But Azula squinted at the light red cookies and pointed to the one on the left. "This one, then!"

Ty Lee rummaged in her pocket for copper pieces and bought the cookie. She then leaned against the window as Azula stood beside her awkwardly. This was never remarkably easy for the princess, and she hated how much Zuko's words were resonating with her.

"Thank you for saving me," Azula said softly, having to force the words out of herself. Ty Lee grinned at her. The next step had to be taken. It had been long enough. More than long enough.

"Why wouldn't I? Thanks for not lying to me and getting me arrested too."

Ty Lee kissed her gently, leaving a residue of frosting on Azula's lips.

Azula decided she would take Zuko's advice.


	19. Cherry Stems Again

Azula had a very clever plan. And all it took was being accused of poisoning the Fire Lord to set it into motion. She ordered a bowl of cherries, and spent far too long picking out the ones she was dissatisfied with. They all were perfect, rotund and glimmering, Fire Nation red.

She reclined on a stone bench in the courtyard, waiting for her girlfriend to arrive on the date. Ty Lee was, of course, late, because she was Ty Lee and got distracted by absolutely everything. It did _nothing _for Azula, who was starting to work herself into a panic.

Finally, Ty Lee arrived, looking as carefree and without a cause as usual. Azula swallowed her nerves, tried to be the conqueror of Ba Sing Se and not the girl she had been for so long, and gestured to the seat across from her.

"I remember this..." Ty Lee said with a small smile. Azula nodded once. "This is how we had our first kiss."

"Care for a rematch?" Azula purred, raising a dark eyebrow. Ty Lee sat down and set her chin on her palm and her elbow on the chipped stone. "I've been practicing."

"With who?" Ty Lee teased and Azula just shrugged. Ty Lee bit into a cherry and once she swallowed the fruit, she set the pit aside and the stem behind her coral pink lips.

She removed it, tied intricately and Azula did not move. Finally, the princess chose her own cherry, ignoring her sticky fingers, and slipped something into her mouth as Ty Lee examined the flowers. Azula feigned tying the cherry, as she did to trick Zuko as a child.

Ty Lee waited patiently, a smile growing. Azula reached into her mouth and pulled out not the tied or untied stem of a cherry, but a gold and red ring. The acrobat was instantly glad she had not tried to eat another piece of fruit, because she choked on her own saliva.

Azula smiled faintly. "Will you marry─?"

"Yes! Of course! Obviously! Yes!" Ty Lee screeched, causing birds to vacate a nearby tree. Azula's golden eyes fluttered in surprise for a moment before she slid the ring on Ty Lee's finger. And Ty Lee did not even care that it had Azula's spit all over it.

Ty Lee smashed her lips against Azula's, and Azula gripped her back. Perfection.

Azula, for once, was glad she took Zuko's advice.

And now she was getting married. And was extremely sticky with cherry juice and Ty Lee's chalky lipstick.


	20. Engagement Announcements

Azula stared at the engagement announcements in front of her and was absolutely baffled as to how there were so many. She squinted and gazed and tried to work out when she developed more than two friends, at which point she realized that Ty Lee was going to invite hundreds of people Azula hated to their wedding.

Which was terrifying. Abjectly terrifying.

"Are you sure we need to invite an entire _island _of people... and all of these aristocrats and circus performers and..." Azula just trailed off at Ty Lee's severe expression. The princess cleared her throat and continued making the announcement she was working on. She was unsure what she had gotten herself into by proposing to Ty Lee solely because Zuko pointed out how lucky she was to have someone who saved her from a life in prison wrongly accused of a crime.

Ty Lee finished the engagement announcement she had been working intently on with her tongue out and her eyes more focused than usual. "These are all my friends, and I love them dearly. If you had friends you could invite them too."

Azula rolled her eyes and returned to the dull work. She did not know why she was doing this, but she supposed it was some absurd attachment of _love_. Ick, _love_. Azula, Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, was _in love_. With a circus freak.

How glorious and glamorous. And her wedding was fast, fast approaching, and her feet were getting colder than the South Pole. But she loved that woman and the way she looked so ridiculous when she was concentrating. And so she made the stupid engagement announcements and the invitations for people she hated to attend her wedding.

It was not the Azula she imagined she would be when she was a little girl with big dreams of being Fire Lord. She thought of herself as some vicious war lord, but perhaps... hm, perhaps all people had their weaknesses, and Ty Lee was hers.

Azula had to admit it was nice to feel human upon occasion. And she felt quite human as Ty Lee stacked the last engagement announcement and bounced over to Azula with great grace. She kissed the princess gently and Azula leaned into it, breathing in and Ty Lee's eyes drifted towards the heave of her flawless chest.

"Thank you for doing this," Ty Lee whispers as Azula moves to kiss her again. "I know it's probably not how you want to get married."

Azula replied smoothly, "The only thing I care about in my wedding is that I'm marrying you. The rest doesn't matter."

And they were certainly the right words, because Ty Lee just kissed her far more passionately before tearing at her clothes.

_This _part of the engagement announcements was the only part that Azula liked.

Fucking relentlessly on top of them.


End file.
